Italian machinery: Domestic orders on the rise

For Italian textile machinery manufacturers, the first quarter of 2016 has opened with a recovery in orders on the domestic side. In foreign markets, orders have instead dropped off slightly. Raffaella Carabelli, President of ACIMIT, said: “The recovery on the domestic market compared to the minimum recorded a year ago is highly encouraging. Abroad, only a few markets have performed well.”

The orders index for textile machinery grew during the first quarter of 2016, thanks especially to a push from Italy’s domestic market. Based on an industry survey conducted by ACIMIT, the Association of Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers, during the period from January to March 2016 overall orders increased by 3 per cent compared to the same period the previous year. The value of the index for the first quarter of 2016 came in at 93.6 points (basis 2010 = 100).

This growth factor regarded only Italy, where the index recorded an absolute value of 65 points (+82 per cent compared to January-March 2015, which had recorded the lowest point in terms of orders in recent years). Abroad, the value for orders came in at 100 points, a 3 per cent drop over the same quarter for 2015.

Carabelli emphasises the encouraging signs from the domestic market, “The ACIMIT survey has certainly highlighted a positive moment, which is also a consequence of what was witnessed at the last edition of ITMA, held in Milan last November. Many Italian textile manufacturers have returned to investing, thanks above all to the support provided by the current Government, with measures that promote the acquisition of machinery.

However, the situation appears less encouraging on foreign markets. “The current global economic situation is not too much positive,” comments Carabelli. “The recovery in China in 2015 has yet to be verified, while other Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, which invested significantly last year, are showing signs of slowing down. The outlook for 2016 is spotty at best.”

ACIMIT represents an industrial sector comprising around 300 manufacturers (employing close to 12,000 people) and producing machinery for an overall value of about 2.6 billion euros, with exports amounting to 86 per cent of total sales. Creativity, sustainable technology, reliability and quality are the characteristics which have made Italy a global leader in the manufacturing of textile machinery.